Man who’s cheated death 9 times answers questions about life and death and McDonalds (11 Photos)

You know how they say, “cats have nine lives”? Well that’s bullshit, but this guy is on his tenth life and this isn’t some Warner Bros. bullshit. Jamie Poole suffers from a condition known as Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. The condition makes him extremely susceptible to having heart attacks—the first of which he had at just 20-year-old. Since then, he has gone into cardiac arrest 9 times, having to be revived each time. Because of his condition, doctors put an instrument called a implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) into his chest, that automatically shocks his heart back into action when he goes into cardiac arrest.

As you can imagine, when people find out Jamie has died more than your average Loony Tunes character, they begin to swirl with question. So, he did what everyone does in this situation, he had an AMA over on Reddit. Some of his answers are fascinating.

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I definitely experienced some psychological side-effects. I once sought out a counsellor who said it is natural for me to have PTSD from the events. Mostly this manifests in a mild paranoia and the 24/7 “listening” to my Heart. Every little bump, flutter, twinge, anything, can set me in a panic mode that I am about to die again. On bad days, I sometimes feel like every step is a risk. I don’t really have full blown panic attacks — but it usually makes me just stop in the middle of the street/path/wherever. I often pretend to look at my phone to make it seem to others that I’m not crazy haha. So if you ever see a guy in London stop and look at a blank phone for no reason, might be me.

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This is probably bad and I hope my cardiologist isn’t reading but I went straight to McDonald’s!! The night before my last ‘death’ I had a cheap pre-made salad from the super-market, water, and some cheap sushi. I told myself that if I’m ever going to have a “last meal” again, it isn’t going to be some bad-tasting cheap salad.

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Physically speaking it’s the defibrillation. I forgot the exact science behind it but it is a very powerful (relatively I think) electrocution of my heart lol. It’s a massive thud/kick in the chest, I lose my breath, it goes up the side of my neck and I taste “metal” in my mouth. But it only lasts a few seconds.

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Each one is kind of unique. Sometimes I only pass out for a few seconds (I have an ICD implanted which acts like the defibrillators Paramedics use — that will automatically shock me back instantly) — so have been able to “feel” the shock and its effects. Others I just drop/black out completely.

By the 5th, a nurse told me: “You know the ICD isn’t going to work everytime right?” — so that time I remember thinking about my Mum and family before I blacked out. I get an 8 second “warning” where I know my heart is fucked but it takes 8 seconds for the defibrillator to charge. So those 8 seconds usually involve me knowing I’m about to die.

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I like to joke I’ve had them all. I think it was the 5th one that I remember my HR colleague writing my name on a whiteboard three times in what could be described as an Out Of Body Experience — or another time I went to New York, and saw Taxis, Trains and Hot Dogs. The last time it was just yellow, warm and a generally “nice” feeling.

I definitely can understand why people think these are supernatural experiences but as an atheist I also know that the chemicals in your brain are in overdrive “oh shit” panic so you can’t trust anything you see. I know it’s mostly just dreaming before I wake up.

One of the most depressing thoughts I’ve ever had was after the 4th death when I woke up and thought to myself, “Thank f!@# I was dreaming, it means I’m still alive”

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One of my favourite movies was Napoleon Dynamite and I used to joke after I woke up that “I round-house kicked a heart attack in the face.”

My family made me a t-shirt with Chuck Norris and that quote for my 21st birthday XD

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Absolutely — probably my biggest fear, which leads to some of the triggers and stuff I have about stopping. I’ll stop in the middle of a street if I think my heart is playing up. I haven’t been hit by a car yet, so technically my heart is more deadly. A nurse once told me that my ICD (implanted defibrillator) won’t work every time, which was great to hear, but makes me think more and more about when the one comes I “don’t” wake up from.

Jamie answered too many good questions to all be covered here. To read the rest, head over to the original thread on Reddit.

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